Peter Hannam - Sydney Morning Herald

The government has met with a series of anti-mining activists amid slumping industry fortunes, apparently making good on a pledge to give more equal weight to environmental and social issues when considering mine approvals.

The conciliatory approach with activists comes at a crucial time for the coal mining industry, with Premier Mike Baird's government considering approvals to mine 1.2 billion tonnes, after approving 1.8 billion tonnes of new coal mining since he became premier.

Angela Macdonald-Smith - Sydney Morning Herald

Santos's credit rating has been cut to the lowest investment grade as the oil and gas producer advised it will book asset write-downs expected to reach into several billion dollars due to the collapse in oil prices.

The company also advised of write-downs of its petroleum reserves at its full-year earnings report next month and flagged further reductions to spending and costs beyond hefty cutbacks made last year.

The downgrade in Santos's credit rating to BBB- from BBB was widely expected after Standard & Poor's slashed the oil price assumptions used to assess the sector's creditworthiness. The outlook on the reduced rating, one notch above "junk" status, is negative, which looks set to feed fears in the market that another equity raising will be required if prices don't recover soon.

"We now expect the company's credit metrics will not recover to a level in line with the previous BBB rating," S&P analyst Craig Parker said.

Struggling oil and gas producer Santos has warned investors

Struggling oil and gas producer Santos has warned investors that it will take asset value write-downs, but has not put an estimate on how big they will be.

The Adelaide-based energy company has seen its share price fall 72 per cent from a recent peak of $9.10 in May, to yesterday's close of just $2.56, leaving the company hovering around its lowest share price since the early 1990s.

In its fourth-quarter production report Santos reiterated comments in a November 9 investor presentation that it expected to book reductions to asset carrying values and reserves in its full-year accounts, to be released on February 19.

Want to drive change on farm and in the Grains industry? The 2016 Australian Farm Grain Leaders Program is about to kick off. Join 9 other young farmers to visit farms in Queensland and Western Australia and visit with industry leaders in Sydney . Grow your own knowledge and skills to apply to your own farm project. Meet industry leaders and attend the industry’s Innovation Generation conference in Western Australia. For more Information contact Facilitator – Jo Eady Phone 0419912879 or email jo.eady@bigpond.com. Applications close 29 January. This program is an initiative of and funded by Grain Growers Limited.

By EDO NSW CEO/Principal Solicitor Sue Higginson

You may have heard that our client People for the Plains, a community group from the Pilliga, is taking CSG company Santos to court over its Leewood CSG waste water development near the iconic Pilliga woodlands. The group argues that without a proper environmental assessment and public consultation, the development is illegal.

The Pilliga – a biodiversity hotspotThe Pilliga is the largest remaining unfragmented block of temperate dry forest and woodland in eastern Australia. It functions as a key refuge for native plants and animals in a landscape largely cleared for agriculture. It is part of a National Biodiversity Hotspot, home to rare species such as the Pilliga Mouse, and is recognised as a globally significant Important Bird Area.[1]

The Pilliga is an important, biodiverse ecosystem. It is also a significant recharge area for the Great Artesian Basin, one of the largest underground water reservoirs in the world and the most important ground water resource in arid and semi-arid eastern Australia.

Within this stunning environment, the Leewood Water Treatment Plant will process over 1 million litres of coal seam gas (CSG) waste water every day. Santos then plans to use the water to irrigate crops on farmland next to the Pilliga forest.

The IA Watson Grains Research Centre near Narrabri is poised for major expansion.

The I.A. Watson Grains Research Centre at Sydney University’s Plant Breeding Institute Narrabri is internationally recognised as a leader in grains research.

The centre has grown significantly in recent years and is now poised for further major expansion.

“In a few weeks a very significant new appointment will be made taking us into a completely new research area,” said Associate Professor Richard Heath.

“This is yet another facet of the expansion of the work done here and the significance of the Narrabri site.

“The Narrabri PBI will continue to grow.”

Apart from its role as an agricultural research facility, the Plant Breeding Institute is also an important Narrabri Shire industry, employing 18 academic, farm and administration staff full and part time and hosting up to 30 visiting PhD students each year.

Last year the PBI took a major step forward with the acquisition of Ron and Gloria Campey’s 1800 ha property Llara adjacent to the research farm.

Barwon LAC - NSW Police Force

In the midst of an 'above normal' bush fire season Police remind motorists of the dangers involved in throwing a lit cigarette from a vehicle window.

Barwon Local Area Command’s Acting Superintendent Kylie Chinnery said “as well as the environmental cost associated with littering, there is also great potential for fires from discarded cigarette butts”.

“Now more than ever we expect residents andtravellers to be responsible citizens” she said.

“Since the start of the bushfire season there has been huge media attention regarding the devastating toll on communities affected by bushfires”.

“A careless act like this by one person travelling through the area could have fatal consequences for our communities”.

The offence of Deposit litter (lit cigarette) carries with it fines of $250 – in aggravated circumstances the fine could be as much as $900 or you could be charged and placed before the courts.

Residents are asked to continue to be vigilant this bushfire season and if you see an unattended fire call 000 - if you witness suspicious behaviour report it immediately.

The Guardian

Three women from the “Knitting Nannas” anti-coal seam gas group have been charged after chaining themselves by the neck to a wastewater plant gate in northern New South Wales.

The women locked themselves on to the gates of the Santos Leewood Water treatment plant south of Narrabri on Monday morning. The treatment plant will support 850 CSG wells above the Great Artesian Basin.

UPDATE: The Newell Highway has reopened today after two massive water bombing tankers were called to battle a bushfire burning out of control in the Pilliga Forest.

According to the Rural Fire Service on Friday morning, the bushfire, burning between Narrabri and Coonabarabran, had swelled to almost 8,000 hectares in size after southerly and hot temperatures on Thursday night.

Angela Macdonald-Smith Energy Reporter SMH

A mega-merger between Santos and Origin Energy could drive $3 billion of cost synergies and help both weather rock-bottom oil prices, according to Credit Suisse.

The deal as envisaged by the bank's energy equities team would involve spinning off Origin's utilities business, while the oil and gas operations would be combined to create "Soritos E&P".

"We are struck by the beauty of both the industrial and political logic to the deal at a time when the companies are on their knees and the east coast market is staring down the barrel of an uncomfortable date with destiny," the analysts said in a note to clients.

A zero-premium merger would be the most logical structure for combining the two companies, which are both suffering from the impact of funding large liquefied natural gas projects in Queensland just as cash flows are being hit by plunging crude oil prices, they said.